It’s possible that you thought you heard your barista wrong but you didn’t, mushroom lattes are the next big health food trend. You probably thought you’d never consider adding liquefied and dried out mushroom mixes to your coffee but welcome to 2018.

Mycelium vs. Fruiting Bodies

The most popular mushroom coffee mix contains Lion’s Mane and Chaga mushrooms. Lion’s mane mushrooms have shown to reduce anxiety and depression and even fight neurological decline. Chaga mushrooms have shown to fight cancer cells, inflammation, and DNA damage.
However, experts argue that in order to take advantage of these benefits, these products need to contain the fruiting part mushrooms, not the roots or vegetative parts (Mycelium). Food and health experts have estimated that 90% of the mushroom products out there are made from the mycelium part of the fungi. That means the health benefits that are associated with these mushroom products won’t be gained from consuming them.

Dosage

Many of these ‘magic mushroom’ products don’t have an adequate amount of mushroom in them to have any sort of effect on your health. Note that 500g-1000g of lion’s mane mushroom would be considered an adequate dosage.

These mushroom mixes can also interfere with medication, therefore it’s important to consult your health practitioner before adding mushroom coffee to your diet while on any prescriptions.

So if you’re looking to mix up your morning coffee and gain some additional health benefits from sipping, look for products that don’t include Mycelium and have adequate dosages.